1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a female terminal, and in particular to a female terminal having a resilient contact for making contact with a tab of a mating male terminal. Further, the present invention relates to a female terminal having a stabilizer.
2. Description of Related Art
A female terminal of the general type has an angular tubular portion at a front end thereof for inserting a mating male terminal. The interior of the angular tubular portion has a resilient contact formed from a portion that extends forwardly from the front end of the angular tubular portion. The female terminal is formed by bending a metal plate blank.
In a pre-formed condition of the above female terminal, the resilient contact projects forwardly from the front of the angular tubular portion, and is folded inwardly of the angular tubular portion so that the resilient contact can be brought elastically into contact with a tab of the male terminal within the angular tubular portion. The disadvantage of such a configuration is that the lengthwise dimension of the blank increases, thus resulting in a waste of the metal plate, i.e., a poor yield.
An improved female terminal offered for the purpose of the reduction of the lengthwise dimension is known in the art, such as, for example, a female terminal disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. HEI 11-345644.
As shown in FIGS. 7-9, an angular tubular portion 2 is provided at a front end of a female terminal 1, and a contact base portion 3 is provided on a part of the ceiling surface of the angular tubular portion 2. A resilient contact 4 is formed from a portion that extends rearwardly from the contact base portion 3, and is folded inwardly so that the resilient contact 4 extends forwardly within the angular tubular portion 2.
As shown in FIG. 9, in a pre-formed condition, the contact base portion 3 extends in a widthwise direction (lower side in FIG. 9) from the angular tubular portion 2, and the resilient contact 4 extends rearwardly (right side in FIG. 9) from the contact base portion 3. With such a configuration, unlike the general type of the female terminal, the lengthwise dimension of the blank does not increase, thereby decreasing the metal plate waste and thus improving the product yield.
However, in such an event where a resilient contact is disposed laterally of an angular tubular portion in its pre-formed condition, the resilient contact may overlap with or obstruct rearwardly positioned portions such as barrel portions, depending on the configuration of a female terminal. In such a case, it is very difficult or even impossible to design and produce such a female terminal.
In addition, the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. HEI 2-117672 discloses another type of a prior female terminal fitting. This prior female terminal has an angular tubular portion at a front end thereof and a stabilizer. The stabilizer is configured to project outwardly from the angular tubular portion to aid insertion of the female terminal into a connector housing in a proper orientation.
However, since the stabilizer projects outwardly, it is susceptible to deformation by interference with other members. Moreover, since the stabilizer is in the form of a single plate, merely extending flushly from a single-plate side wall of the angular tubular portion, it has a little strength, and is easily deformed or bent from its root portion by interference with other members.
The present invention has been developed after taking the above problems into consideration, and an object thereof is to provide a female terminal wherein a resilient contact provided thereon can maintain a sufficient contact pressure with respect to the mating male terminal. Another object of the present invention is to provide a female terminal which prevents the deformation or bending of a stabilizer.
As a solution to this problem, it was conceived to provide, for example, a female terminal 10 as shown in FIGS. 10-11. In the pre-formed condition of this female terminal 10, a contact base portion 14 extends laterally in a widthwise direction, and a resilient contact 15 extends rearwardly from the contact base portion 14, as in the case of the female terminal 1. However, the contact base portion 14 is folded under to lie beneath the lower surface of a ceiling wall 12 of an angular tubular portion 11, at a folded end portion 13 provided at a side edge of the ceiling wall 12. Accordingly, in its pre-formed condition, the resilient contact 15 extends lengthwise, spaced apart from the angular tubular portion 11 sufficiently in a widthwise direction to avoid overlapping with or obstructing rearwardly positioned portions.
However, in this female terminal 10, since the folded end portion 13 is provided interiorly of the inner surface of the angular tubular portion 11, the width W1 of the resilient contact 15 becomes small, as illustrated. As a result, contact pressure with respect to a mating male terminal is reduced.
To solve the above problems, and/ or other associated problems, the present invention provides a female terminal. The female terminal has an angular tubular portion that extends in a lengthwise direction. The angular tubular portion has an insertion opening at one end thereof for inserting a mating male terminal, and adjacently disposed first and second walls that extend in the lengthwise direction.
The female terminal further has a base portion at the first wall of the angular tubular portion, and the base portion has an end that extends toward the second wall in a widthwise direction. A resilient contact extends from the base portion in the lengthwise direction, and is folded inwardly so that the resilient contact extends within the angular tubular portion for elastically making contact with a tab of the mating male terminal. The angular tubular portion has a receiving portion positioned to correspond to, and receive the end portion of the base portion.
In accordance with the above construction of the present invention, the width of the resilient contact can be increased. Therefore, a contact pressure of the resilient contact with respect to the tab of the mating male terminal can be increased without increasing the size of the angular tubular portion. Thus, this construction is particularly effective in the case where the female terminal is to be miniaturized.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the resilient contact has a width substantially the same as an inner width of the angular tubular portion. Hence, a contact pressure of the resilient contact with respect to the tab of the mating male terminal will be increased without increasing the size of the angular tubular portion.
In a further aspect of the invention, the receiving portion is formed in at least one of the first and second walls and positioned to correspond to and receive the end portion of the base portion. Preferably, the end portion of the base portion is fixedly secured within the receiving portion.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the end portion of the base portion extends through the receiving portion, and projects beyond an outer surface of the second wall to form a guide member or a stabilizer that aids insertion of the female terminal into a connecting device in a proper orientation.
In a further aspect of the invention, the receiving portion includes a cut-away portion formed between and first and second walls, and the cut-away portion has a window that allows the end portion of the base portion to be observed from an interior side of the first wall.
In another aspect of the invention, the base portion is formed from a double wall structure, and the end portion of the base portion is formed form a folded end portion. Preferably, the receiving portion includes a cut-away portion formed between the first and second walls, and an edge of the cut-away portion tightly engages the base portion at or in the vicinity of the folded end portion, thereby preventing the folded end portion from being deformed open.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the folded end portion extends through the receiving portion, and rigidly projects from an outer surface of the second wall to form a guide member or a stabilizer that aids insertion of the female terminal into a connecting device in a proper orientation.
Further, the present invention provides a female terminal. The female terminal has an angular tubular portion that extends in a lengthwise direction. The angular tubular portion has an insertion opening at one end thereof for inserting a mating male terminal, and has adjacently disposed first and second walls that extend in the lengthwise direction. The angular tubular portion further has a base portion at the first wall. The base portion is formed from a double wall structure folded doubly, and includes a folded end portion That extends toward the second wall in a widthwise direction. The angular tubular portion also has a resilient contact extending from the base portion in the lengthwise direction for elastically contacting a tab of the mating male terminal, and a receiving opening formed in at least one of the first and second walls and positioned to correspond to and receive the folded end portion of the base portion.
In a further aspect of the present invention, an edge of the receiving opening tightly engages the base portion in proximity of the folded end portion, thereby preventing the folded end portion form being deformed open.
Preferably, the receiving opening is formed between the first and second walls, and has a window that allows the folded end portion of the base portion to be observed from an exterior side of the first wall.
In a further aspect of the invention, the folded end portion extends through the receiving portion, and rigidly projects from an outer surface of the second wall to form a guide member that aids insertion of the female terminal into a connecting device in a proper orientation.
Furthermore, the present invention provides a female terminal. The female terminal has an angular tubular portion that extends along a longitudinal direction. The angular tubular portion has a bottom wall, opposed side walls protruding upwardly from side edges of the bottom wall, and a top wall having upper and lower wall portions. The upper and lower wall portions protrude inwardly from the opposed side walls so that the upper wall portion is positioned in an overlying relationship with respect to the lower wall portion, The angular tubular portion further has a cut-away portion formed in at least one of the top wall and the side walls, and a double wall stabilizer configured to aid insertion of the female terminal into a cavity of a connector housing in a proper orientation. The double wall stabilizer includes a double wall structure formed from the lower wall portion of the top wall. The double wall stabilizer extends out of an outer surface of the angular tubular portion through the cut-away portion, and is tightly secured at a root portion thereof in the cut-away portion.
In accordance with the above construction of the present invention, the double wall stabilizer is formed into a double thickness structure. Hence, it can maintain a greater strength than that of a single thickness structure. Moreover, since the root portion of the double wall stabilizer is secured within the cut-away portion, it is possible to prevent the stabilizer from deforming or bending in a direction perpendicular to the protruding direction of the double wall stabilizer.
In a further aspect of the invention, the cut-away portion is formed at an upper end portion of one side wall. The double wall stabilizer has a folded end portion of the lower wall portion of the top wall forming the double wall stabilizer that protrudes through the cut-away portion in a direction parallel to a plane of the upper wall portion of the top wall and in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. With this construction, since the stabilizer protrudes laterally from the angular portion, a height of the female terminal can be reduced, compared to that with a stabilizer protruding upwardly form an angular tubular portion. Accordingly, a height of a connector housing, into which the female terminal is inserted, can be reduced.
In another aspect of the present invention, the cut-away portion is formed in the upper wall portion of the top wall. The double wall stabilizer has an upwardly protruding portion of the lower wall portion forming the double wall stabilizer that extends through the cut-away portion in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the upper wall portion of the top wall. The double wall stabilizer is tightly secured at the root portion within the cut-away portion. An end portion of the lower wall portion extends toward the side wall and is secured within a support opening formed in one of the side walls.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a resilient contact extends from the lower wall portion in the longitudinal direction for elastically making contact with a mating male terminal, and end portion of the lower wall portion is tightly secured within the support opening, so that the lower wall portion supports the double wall stabilizer. Preferably, the double wall stabilizer is formed by buckling upward left-side and right-side plate portions of the lower wall portion so that the double wall stabilizer projects upwardly at a central portion of the left-right direction of the lower wall portion of the top wall.